1. Field
Electrical conductors, methods of producing the same, and devices including the same are disclosed.
2. Description of the Related Art
An electronic device like a flat panel display such as LCD or LED, a touch screen panel, a solar cell, or a transparent transistor includes a transparent electrode. A material for a transparent electrode may be required to have, for example, high light transmittance of greater than or equal to about 80% and low specific resistance of less than or equal to about 100 microohm centimeters (μΩ*cm) in a visible light region. The currently-used oxide material may include indium tin oxide (ITO), tin oxide (SnO2), zinc oxide (ZnO), and the like. The ITO is widely used as a transparent electrode material which is a degenerate semielectrical conductor having a wide bandgap of 3.75 electron volts (eV) and may be easily sputtered to have a large area. However, since the ITO conventionally has limited conductivity and flexibility when applied to a flexible touch panel and a UD-level high resolution display, and also a high price due to its limited natural availability, many attempts to replace the ITO have been made.
Recently, a flexible electronic device as a next generation electronic device has been a subject of active research. Accordingly, development of a material securing flexibility as well as having transparency and relatively high conductivity other than the above transparent electrode material is required. Research efforts on using graphene, which is one of flexible conductive materials, for an electrical conductor (e.g., transparent electrode for a flexible electronic device, etc.) have been undertaken. There is currently a need to develop a graphene-based material having improved electric/optical properties.